Art Charms

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Find your "Happy Place"

It's long overdue for me to post. With all the crazy things life throws at us, we can slip away from the what makes us happy.  I've been making jewelry, but I hadn't taken the time to share. I think sharing creations is one of the best parts of the jewelry community. I've formed wonderful friendships with the people I've met through making jewelry and crafting.

I've wanted to post for quite some time, but always found an excuse or a reason to delay. Recent events reminded me life is too short to delay doing what we love. My love is creating and sharing my excitement and knowledge with others.

About 3 weeks ago I lost a long-time friend, whom I considered more like family than a friend. We met when I was in first grade and he was in second. His name is Brian.

Brian had a rough go of it , having been diagnosed with Type I diabetes at age 2. He had endured a kidney transplant that failed, a quintuple bypass and dialysis for over a decade. He was 43 when he passed from this life. I was proud to have called him my friend for 37 years.

The night I found out my friend, Brian had passed on, I was looking through a new issue of Art Jewelry magazine and ran across an ad from Wubbers. The ad said they were looking for teachers. I almost talked myself out of applying, but then I recalled the conversations my friend and I had through the years.

Brian had a joie de vivre. He attributed it to knowing he was living on borrowed time, a Carpe Diem mentality.  He would often remind me, it's the things in life we don't do that we regret most. So,I sent an email immediately.

I didn't hear anything for almost a week and just about forgotten about it, when I received an email from Lexi Erickson Ph. D., the President of Wubbers University. We exchanged a few emails and within 2 days I had joined their team.

My first tutorial went up on their site that Friday. I have 3 posted to date and have been asked to create a tutorial every week for Wubbers University.

I found my "Happy Place" again.

I'm sharing the photos from my tutorials today and the full length text can be found on wubbersu.com

Happy Crafting and don't forget to find your Happy Place. You deserve it!



I created this piece last year for the contest by Beadoholique. It was chosen as a finalist.
I love wearing this piece and it's a real conversation starter. The skull beads remind me of Nightmare Before Christmas, one of my favorite movies. It looks far more difficult to make than it is.

I love bats. I have bat houses in my back yard or as I like to refer to them, Der Fledermaus Haus. My earrings are a fun and easy way to get into the Halloween spirit

Those of you who know me, know I love polymer clay.  I usually work on more sculptural pieces, but when I was trying to find just the right look for a funky, chunky bracelet, The idea of making candy corn popped into my head. I knew polymer clay would retain its color and is durable as long as it is cured properly. I've been wearing this daily for the last week and it still looks great. Don't forget to seal your clay. I use Varathane. 

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Wire Wrap Mania

Here's one of my latest wire wrap rings. I used 20 gauge square and 26 gauge round Beadolon wire. It's definitely a statement piece. I love the color of the focal bead. It reminds me of the Aegean or someplace tropical.

So, here's my hinged cuff bracelet. I love the look of cuffs, but I'm usually doing something crafty and crazy, so I wanted something that wouldn't pop off my wrist. The view below is of the bracelet when opened.


I found this beautiful fluorite flower bead at a gem show. I really loved how the ring turned out

Titanium Druzy is one of my favorites. The stone was so beautiful, I went for the "less is more" approach on this pendant.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Viking Knit

So, I've been playing around with Viking knit and I think I finally got the hang of it. I made this one out of copper and ceramic beads.  It's a fun technique. The only tools you need are a dowel or something to weave the wire around and a draw plate to pull the wire through. So, if you want to make some attractive looking jewelry on a tight budget, this may be something to look into trying.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Wire Wrap Bracelets

I found these unique barrel shaped Howlite beads and knew I wanted to do something that really showed them off to their best advantage. I created a frame and secured them in the middle.







                         I used Chalcedony, Sugilite, Agate, Pearl and Crystals on this Copper Cuff




What can I say? I love these barrel shaped beads.





I found this piece of Titanium Druzy and had to do something with it. I just love this stone. I formed a cuff with some 16 gauge wire, hammer hardened it and went to town wrapping it with a selection of assorted beads, using 22 gauge copper wire.

Monday, April 9, 2012

"International Art Charm Day"

I've posted a few of my recent art charms to get some excitement going for "International Art Charm Day",  April 28.

Art Charms to Celebrate!

PMC and Dichroic Glass Charm with Crystal
















Howlite and Forged Copper Charm

Shrink Plastic "Happy Harpy"

 Embossed Copper Charm

Shrink Plastic Charm

Shrink Plastic Charm

Shrink Plastic Charm